hospital headbands (aka, how to avoid post-surgical bedhead)

I must have a built-in "get ready for the hospital" sensor.  Last night I made a batch of headbands to bring along to the hospital in hopes of avoiding several bad hair days (just two weeks to go!).  I also made headbands when I was pregnant with Oscar, coincidentally two weeks before going into labor.  Maybe it is part of my nesting instinct?  :)

To give me a few options, I made three varieties of braided headbands using this tutorial by Rubyellen of Cakies (found on the Smile and Wave blog).   My favorite is the single gold braid made using ribbon, with the double braided fabric band coming in at a close second.  The black and white one is kind of "meh," but it will be serviceable.  Also, I am not so good at the self portraits.  It took me about 40 shots to get a decent angle on these three headbands.

While I was at it, I made two headbands for baby Ruby.  Just some simple satin flowers on very soft, stretchy elastic. 

Looking for a cute headband tutorial?  Check out this great one by my former bookclub comrade, Heidi, who recently showed how to make zipper rosettes on UCreate.  It is on my to-do list.

root beer sampler - happy father's day!

 Does your guy LOVE rootbeer?  Mine, too.

When I first saw the idea for a rootbeer sampler on The Indigo Bunting (via Oh Happy Day), I thought it was so brilliant!  And I tucked it away to use on Jared's birthday.  Then promptly forgot.

Thankfully, the Giver's Log featured a similar idea for a root beer tour just last weekend, so I got to work for Father's Day.

I found a few good root beer selections at my regular grocery store, but the best supplier in my town was Whole Foods, who carried eight varieties.  Score!  I collected twelve brews total and put one of each kind in a simple wood crate (found at Michael's).

I loved the sampler guide on Erin's blog, so I made a smaller-scale version of my own, using plain old powerpoint.  I used her descriptions where our brands matched up, and searched for descriptions of the rest on various root beer fanatics' blogs (such as Anthony's Root Beer Barrel, Cosmo's Root Beer Reviews, Spike's Root Beer Reviews and Kingofsoda.com).

I have a happy husband today (he deserves it - what a great dad).  Plus, I get to sample some yummy root beer, too, because I had to buy a lot more than one bottle of each brand (in fact, my father-in-law got a duplicate crate).  It will be fun to try them all out.

We haven't sampled Margo's Bark yet, but it has my favorite brand story.  It was originally brewed by a seven-year-old boy named Oscar for a science fair project.  He named the family brew after his dog, Margo, and all the profits go to helping dogs in animal shelters.  Love that.

Hope you had a happy weekend!

a happy cookie mistake

I was going to blog today about a cute little top I made for baby, but it is hanging in Oscar's closet and the boy is sleeping.  I don't have pictures yet and certainly don't mess with naptime.

So ... instead I am baking chocolate chip cookies.  They are in the oven as I type.  Don't you hate when you are just short of an ingredient?  I didn't quite have enough vanilla, so I topped off my teaspoon with almond extract (it was probably about 1/4 teaspoon, maybe less) and the result is a magically delicious cookie.  It might permanently change my recipe.

Also, I can no longer see my feet if I'm standing straight.  Three more weeks!

work in progress ... Ruby's blessing dress

This weekend I made the bodice for Ruby's blessing dress.

I've been making up the pattern as I go along and the design itself is pretty simple.  I opted against the diamond pintucks for now because I found this sweet lace trim for the neckline that I love.  It was just too much with all the diamonds.   I am making two dresses, one for Ruby and one for a friend, so maybe they'll make it into the next design.

And since I'm making two dresses, my plan is to perfect the pattern on this version and make a tutorial for the little dress on the next version.  Is that something you'd be interested in?  You'll have to be patient with me though ... I've got a lot coming my way soon.

The inside of the dress is fully lined, and since I don't want any exposed seams, it requires a bit of hand stitching.  I think I'll embroider the baby's name and blessing date somewhere inside there as well.

The skirt of the dress is going to have a few rows of horizontal pintucks, and a sash at the empire waist.  Very simple overall, but so far it is turning out exactly how I had envisioned it.  I love when that happens.

oscar had a little lamb

Oscar has recently been picking up on animal sounds and is particularly smitten with sheep.  Whenever he comes across a picture of one, I hear BAA! BAA! BAA! over and over until I acknowledge that, yes indeed, that is a sheep.  It is pretty cute.

With that in mind, and since I haven't sewn in over a week (oops), I whipped up these lamb pillows during Oscar's nap today.  I'm sure you've seen the project before ... it was originally posted as a tutorial on The Purl Bee back in March.   Or maybe you saw Dana's adorable fleece version on MADE.

I also used fleece for my lambs for both the bodies and face/limbs.  It makes them very snuggle-worthy and will be much more washing-machine friendly than the wool felt (although that looks lovely).  I also turned the legs upside down because I liked the rounded end better than the pointed end.  Sometimes I get really wacky like that.  ;)

With only four weeks to go until baby sister arrives, it is definitely time to start crafting in double time.  I embroidered the kid's names on the pillows ... though I doubt that will stop Oscar from claiming both lambs as his own.  So to my dearest friend Megan, who said I would never make personalized crafts past my first baby, I say, ha!  Take this! (and also, I love you)

homemade by YOU flickr group

I've been getting wonderful emails lately full of pictures from readers who have been making sock bunny rattles, cozy car caddies, maternity skirts, you name it.  And I LOVE those emails.  But why should I have all the fun?  I want everyone to see how awesome you all are.  So ... last night I set up a new Flickr group:

The homemade by YOU flickr group is intended for photos of projects that have been made with tutorials from this blog, or inspired by things you have seen here at Homemade by Jill.   I plan to do an occasional (maybe monthly) reader round-up post, sharing the most inspiring photos you submit.  I love to see what you are working on, especially when you've put a new twist on one of my projects.  Now it is time to share with everyone else!

homemade playdough

Hope you are all having a lovely week!  You can find me over at Skip to my Lou today.

Cindy is hosting a summer Craft Camp - every day in June, she'll have a new guest blogger with a fun project for kids.  The guest blogger line-up is kind of fabulous, so you'll want to keep checking back to see ideas from your favorite craft bloggers.

Today I'm sharing a great homemade playdough recipe and how-to.  I hope you'll stop by!